Sunday, April 22nd is not only Earth Day, it also marks the 2nd anniversary of the unprecedented Macondo Prospect oil gusher into the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) which began the infamous BP Gulf Oil Spill – a triggered geological anomaly separate from the Deepwater Horizon disaster on 20 April 2010.

The Gulf Rescue Alliance (GRA) has published “DEEPWATER UNKNOWNS -TWO YEARS AFTER” in observance of this day unearthing new details about this oil spill event. This extraordinarily revealing account is set against “a backdrop of recently published scientific studies indicating sick and dying dolphins, coral and other sea life; bacteria laden tar balls washing onto beaches, an intoxicated Gulf food chain and a Macondo geohazard risk zone over a mile below the surface that some experts say has the potential of releasing toxic gas and oil into the Gulf of Mexico for the next 25 years.”

There has been a wave of articles recently published detailing the many health problems and medical concerns which both government and industry have yet to acknowledge. Many of these studies point out the obvious; that when you mix a tremendous volume of released oil with methane gas and further mix it with a toxic dispersant like Corexit, as they have done throughout this oil spill, a chemical cocktail is created that will have as far-reaching ecological ramifications as it will profound environmental consequences.

Health and environmental advocacy groups of concerned citizens have demanded that the government operate with more transparency in the GOM. For instance, it was reported by GRA in “Digging Under the Macondo Tombstones” that “a petition to demand an independent ROV survey of the seabed floor” has been circulated to compel the US Federal Government to fulfill its statutory responsibilities to the residents of the GOM coastline.[DSW1]

Contrary to recent reports, BP and government officials have held firm that oil is no longer leaking and sightings of new oil are merely ‘natural seeps’. A Geohazards Specialist who has worked from afar analyzing the state of the seafloor around the Macondo explains why this is likely not the case:
“After months of spewing a corrosive mix of gas, oil and brine into the fragile faulted Gulf Salt-Geology, even the most optimistic geologists would come to the grim conclusion that the 18,300 ft well is no longer the only vertical conduit out of the reservoir. ~ BK Lim Geohazard Expert

Another very telling story has been reported by Barbara Wiseman, President of The Earth Organization (TEO). “At the beginning of the disaster, TEO investigated to find effective, non-toxic technologies currently available in adequate supply to clean up an oil spill of this size. Once we isolated the best solutions, we then investigated to find what the barriers to getting them implemented were. The barriers have all come down to specific people in the EPA. They are, in effect, holding the Gulf hostage and, for some unexplained reason, won’t let it be cleaned up.”

Hence, two years after, workable technology for cleaning up the spill damage is blocked by what GRA calls an “EPA blind sighted by its own bureaucratic web”. This stark observation was made by one with deep experience in this field: “The toxic dispersants add absolutely nothing to EFFECTIVE RESPONSE. There is no scientific basis for it, and their use violates The Clean Water Act, EPA’s charter and common sense. All stakeholders continue doing the same thing over and over again, with the exact same negative outcome—although the EPA calls the toxins in dispersants’ reasonable tradeoffs’, Corexit and dispersants like it, have a horrible track record”, said Steven Pedigo, CEO OSEI Corporation.

The Gulf Rescue Alliance has likewise posted important questions and presented previously unknown facts about the true state of the Macondo well, which have yet to make it into the mainstream media after almost two years. Their report to Congress on February 24, 2012 is both revelatory and alarming. Conclusive Evidence That BP Misrepresented Gulf Oil Spill Sent To Congress and now Deepwater Unknowns ought to be studied by officials throughout the concerned state governments, as well as by all the coastal counties and beachfront communities rimming the GOM coastline.

Earth Day presents a perfect opportunity for all concerned citizens living and working near the Gulf Coast to come together to resolve some of these weighty matters. Only by proactively addressing the true state of the Gulf of Mexico, will the waters, beaches, wetlands and estuaries ever have hope of being cleaned up.